Brigadier pens griping tale of cross-border love
- Khaleej Times
- 30 Apr 2017
new delhi — A retired Indian Army brigadier has penned a fascinating love story that traverse between India and Pakistan in the backdrop of the divisive politics that has plagued the sub-continent for decades.
Brig. Baqir Shameem, the author of The Chenab Connection, served in the Indian Army for over three decades and witnessed the growing cross-border conflict from close quarters.
The Chenab Connection is a fictional love story about an Indian boy and a Pakistani girl falling in love and managing to settle down and starting a family under the looming shadow of hatred that has grown stronger over the last seven decades.
It looks at the crisis and its nu- ances through the eyes of people who are in love; because sometimes all it takes is love to conquer all. In the case of Ravi, love makes him cross one of the most hostile borders in the world to be one with Shaheen.
Reading the book, for the first time I realised that an army man feels the same way a common man does. Everyone wants peace between the two nations and that can only be achieved through love, not war
Rama Pandey, veteran theatre personality
The book is as much a love story as much as it is a look at the divisive politics that has plagued the sub-continent for decades, where terror and subversion have become second nature for hawks who find more comfort in conflict than in peace and harmony.
The book release was followed by a conversation with the author and journalist Tina Sharma Tiwari on the topic “Can Chenab connect the hearts and minds of the people like it connects the land?”
“Reading the book, for the first time I realised that an army man feels the same way a common man does. Everyone wants peace between the two nations and that can only be achieved through love, not war,” said veteran theatre personality Rama Pandey, who graced the launch event. The Chenab Connection is the author’s fifth novel. He has previously written four books on different subjects, including The Final Option, The Simmering Sands, The Slender Trail, and The Wishbone
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Truth be told…
“The Slender Trail presents an extreme case scenario and offers a very drastic solution. But that’s the only solution,” says Shameem who having spent a few years of his life working in Saudi Arabia, has seen first-hand most of the events mentioned in the book.
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Unlike the Cold War between two superpowers that spawned several popular novels , the decades-old tension between India and Pakistan hardly finds space in Indian fiction. Baqir Shameem’s “The Chenab Connection” is an exception. The novel by the retired brigadier from Indian Army deals with a love story transcending Indo-Pak borders with their tense relations as the backdrop. Having penned thrillers like “The Final Option”, “The Wishbone”, “Simmering Sands” and “Slender Trail”, the suggestion to write a romantic genre story came from his daughter-in-law. “Considering the times we live in where we are really missing this forgotten feeling and relationship, I decided that my next story should focus on love. Not just between two sexes but one with a wider humanistic spectrum, between people of different groups, religion, countries and age.” For this the legendary tales of Sohini-Mahiwal and Heer-Ranjha inspired him. “These folk lores really appealed to me a lot. Coincidentally, both are from the region where the river Chenab flows and the hence the title.”
The author has successfully depicted different shades of affection in the novel by outlining relationships between parents and children, friends, family members, people belonging to different faiths and regions and giving them ample content and depth. “I have experienced love from people and acquaintances of all communities and countries including Pakistan. Some of my characters in the novel reflect this,” he says. The love stories are not the usual ones as they are inter-religious and inter-regional like one between Ravi and Shaheen and Omar and Simran belonging to either sides of the border. On pointing such relationships lead to tension and threats, the writer says, “Those are from lumpen elements supported by power hungry politicians who target only the poor and helpless. What about the well placed personalities who have married outside the religion? Has ‘love jehad’ affected them too? The day a person considers his religion his personal faith and belief alone, whether to believe or not being his prerogative, such frivolous issues will vanish.”
https://www.thehindu.com/books/bringing-hearts-together/article18728462.ece
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Book Review: The Chenab Connection is a worthy addition to one’s bookshelf
The Chenab Connection by Baqir Shameem is a chronicle of relationships that triumphs against many odds.
The book opens well, with a woman at the wheel in a part of the Middle East where gunfire forms the backdrop of her going to the hospital. The frisson of fear in her mind transfers itself to the reader, especially if the reader is aware of the tinderbox situation in large parts of the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. The serenity inside the hospital’s maternity ward creates a telling contrast, showing us how life goes on even amid an eruption of violence.
हिन्दुस्तान-पाकिस्तान का चेनाब कनेक्शन
बाकिर शमीम की पुस्तक ‘द चेनाब कनेक्शन’ भारतीय उपमहाद्वीप में मजबूत हो चुकी नफरत की उभरती छाया में, भारतीय लड़के और पाकिस्तानी लड़की के बीच के प्यार की पड़ताल करती है।
नई दिल्ली, 28 अप्रैल, 2017: भारतीय सेना के एक सेवानिवृत्त ब्रिगेडियर बाकिर शमीम ने भारत और पाकिस्तान की नफरत की बीच पनपी एक आकर्षक प्रेम कहानी पर आधारित अपनी पुस्तक ‘द चेनाब कनेक्शन’ का नयी दिल्ली में इंडिया इंटरनेशनल सेंटर में आयोजित एक समारोह में भारी संख्या में दर्शकों की उपस्थिति में लोकार्पण किया।
ब्रिगेडियर शमीम ने तीन दशकों से अधिक समय तक भारतीय सेना में रहकर देश की सेवा की है और बहुत निकटता से भारत-पाक विवाद को बढ़ते हुए देखा है। पुस्तक को जारी करते हुए, ब्रिगेडियर शमीम ने कहा, ‘‘मेरी चौथी पुस्तक पूरी होने के बाद, मेरी बहू पूजा ने मुझसे एक प्रेम कहानी लिखने के लिए कहा। मैंने सोचा कि अगर प्यार पर आधारित पुस्तक ही लिखनी है, तो क्यों न इसे क्षेत्रीय लोककथाओं पर आधारित रखूं? मेरे मन में जो दो लोककथाएं तुरंत आयीं, वे सोहिनी-महिवाल और हीर-रांझा थीं। संयोग से, ये दोनों लोककथाएं ‘चिनाब क्षेत्र’ से हैं।
चिनाब कनेक्शन प्यार में पड़े और इसे कामयाब करने वाले एक भारतीय लड़के और एक पाकिस्तानी लड़की की एक काल्पनिक प्रेम कहानी है जो पिछले सात सालों से अधिक समय तक पनपी नफरत की छाया में अपने प्यार को अंजाम तक पहुंचा कर अपना परिवार बनने में कामयाब रहे। यह उन लोगों की आंखों के माध्यम से प्यार के संकट और उसकी बारीकियों को देखता है, जो प्यार में हैं, क्योंकि कभी-कभी प्यार से हर चीज पर विजय हासिल किया जा सकता है। रवि के मामले में, प्रेम उसे शाहीन के साथ एक होने के लिए दुनिया की सबसे अधिक शत्रुतापूर्ण सीमाओं को पार करने का हौसला देता है। फिर सिमरन और उमर भी हैं, जो अलग-अलग परिस्थितियों में प्यार में पड़ते हैं और खुषी की तलाष में मुश्किल हालात का सामना करते हैं।
इस पुस्तक का लोकार्पण ब्रिगेडियर शमीम की पत्नी निलोफर ने किया। पुस्तक के विमोचन के बाद लेखिका और वरिष्ठ पत्रकार टीना शर्मा तिवारी ने ‘क्या चिनाब लोगों के दिलों और दिमाग को जोड़ सकता है जिस प्रकार यह देश को जोड़ता है?’ विशय पर चर्चा की।
दिलचस्प एवं खुली चर्चा के दौरान, टीना शर्मा तिवारी ने कहा कि, ‘‘मैं पिछले कुछ दिनों में इस पुस्तक को पढ़ रही हूं और यह बेहद आकर्षक है क्योंकि इसके केंद्र में एक प्रेम कहानी है लेकिन इसके आसपास काफी साजिश है और लेखक ने दोनों तरफ की सेनाओं, खुफिया एजेंसियों के बारे में बात करते हुए स्पष्ट रूप से अपने अनुभव का इस्तेमाल किया है। ये सभी ऐसी परिस्थितियों में रचे गये हैं जो बेहद दिलचस्प हैं।“
कहानी का नायक, रवि प्यार में पड़ा एक ऐसा व्यक्ति है जो अपनी प्रेमिका शाहीन के साथ रहने के लिए कुछ भी करने को तैयार हैं। उनके मामले में, अवरोध सिर्फ दो अलग-अलग समुदाय ही पैदा नहीं करते हैं। शाहीन पाकिस्तान में रहती है, जबकि रवि दिल्ली से है। वे बचपन में ही मिले थे जब उनके परिवार बहरीन में रहते थे और पड़ोसी थे। लेकिन जीवन अक्सर एक कठिन रास्ता होता है और वे अलग हो जाते हैं। हालात शाहीन को अपने देश लौटने के लिए मजबूर कर देती है, और रवि दिल्ली में स्थापित हो जाता हैं।
यह पुस्तक जितनी एक प्रेम कहानी है उतनी ही यह विभाजनकारी राजनीति पर भी नजर डालती है जिसने इस उपमहाद्वीप को कई दशकों से ग्रस्त कर रखा है, जहां आतंकवाद और तोड़फोड़ बाकियों के लिए दूसरी प्रकृति बन गई है, जो शांति और सामंजस्य की तुलना में संघर्ष में अधिक आराम महसूस करते हैं। रवि और शाहीन में जो पात्र हैं, वे भारत और पाकिस्तान के कई लोगों की वास्तविकता हैं।
पुस्तक के लोकार्पण के अवसर पर लेखक के बैच के साथी और वरिष्ठ सेना के साथियों सहित साहित्य और रक्षा बिरादरी के लोग भी उपस्थित थे। अनुभवी टीवी पत्रकार, रंगकर्मी और रत्नाव फाउंडेशन की संस्थापक रमा पांडे ने कहा, ‘‘पुस्तक को पहली बार पढ़कर मुझे एहसास हुआ कि एक सेना का आदमी उसी तरह महसूस करता है जैसे एक आम आदमी करता है। हर कोई दोनों देशों के बीच शांति चाहता है और यह केवल प्यार से हासिल किया जा सकता है, युद्ध से नहीं।“ इस समारोह का समापन लेखक के द्वारा उत्साही दर्शकों के लिए अपनी पुस्तक की प्रति पर हस्ताक्षर करने के साथ हुआ।
‘द चिनाब कनेक्शन’ लेखक का पांचवां उपन्यास है। उन्होंने पहले विभिन्न विषयों पर चार पुस्तकें लिखी हैं, जिनमें ‘द फाइनल ऑप्शन’, ‘द सिमरिंग सैंड्स’, ‘द स्लेंडर ट्रेल’ और ‘द विशबोन’ शामिल हैं।
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Brig. Baqir Shameem, the author of “The Chenab Connection” served in the Indian Army for over three decades and witnessed the growing cross-border conflict from close quarters.
“The Chenab Connection” is a fictional love story about an Indian boy and a Pakistani girl falling in love and managing to settle down and starting a family under the looming shadow of hatred that has grown stronger over the last seven decades.
It looks at the crisis and its nuances through the eyes of people who are in love; because sometimes all it takes is love to conquer all. In the case of Ravi, love makes him cross one of the most hostile borders in the world to be one with Shaheen.
The book is as much a love story as much as it is a look at the divisive politics that has plagued the sub-continent for decades, where terror and subversion have become second nature for hawks who find more comfort in conflict than in peace and harmony.
The book release was followed by a conversation with the author and journalist Tina Sharma Tiwari on the topic “Can Chenab connect the hearts and minds of the people like it connects the land?”
“Reading the book, for the first time I realised that an army man feels the same way a common man does. Everyone wants peace between the two nations and that can only be achieved through love, not war,” said veteran Theatre personality Rama Pandey, who graced the launch event.
“The Chenab Connection” is the author’s fifth novel. He has previously written four books on different subjects, including “The Final Option,” “The Simmering Sands.”
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Sunday, January 29, 2006 |
| The price of Osama Amarinder Sandhu
The Final Option
The Americans want Osama badly, but Pakistan won’t let him be revealed that easily. Osama is a cult figure not only in that country “but also for a`A0majority of the population in the Middle East, North Africa, former Soviet states, Malaysia and Indonesia”. Pakistan cannot afford to antagonise the Muslim world, but Osama can be handed over to the US for a price, to which the Americans agree and give a nod for their indirect cooperation. The price is heavy—the “liberation” of Kashmir. With India and Pakistan moving towards peace talks, the hotline between the operational headquarters of the Indian and Pakistani armies is suddenly activated. General Harinder Singh, who talks to Pakistani General Ibadat Beg, has some grave news for the Chief of the Army Staff. India’s security is under threat again. Either India should withdraw its troops from Kashmir or face serious nuclear consequences. The author makes India appear as a military regime and not as a democracy. The Chief of the Army Staff takes the decisions without informing the Prime Minister or the National Security Advisor. The Field Commanders have a field day, behaving like warlords and treating their area of operation as personal fiefdoms. Ignoring protocol, evading perils and giving the appearance of normalisation, the Army bigwigs pass order to withdraw troops from along the LoC. Behind the scenes, the Army seems to have taken over the reins of the state, as India continues to function as a democracy. India breeds men in uniform who are tougher and always resourceful. Every plot has its loopholes and every man has his weaknesses. A folder on Jehangir Khan, the military leader of Pakistan, shows his son and family residing in Chicago. The Indian Army comes up with a plan: kidnap the Pakistani President’s son and other members of the family. Col Asad Mustafa, a valiant Indian of good peasant stock, heads the kidnapping operation named Swarn. He is accompanied by his love interest, Swarnlatha, Maj Sanyal a military doctor, Wing Commander Moorthy, an ace pilot, and Col Patil. The family is kidnapped from America, flown across half the globe in an Air India plane that stops at Heathrow for refueling and lands safety at Bangalore. A difficult mission, but easily accomplished! Written in a simple language, the novel is contemporary indeed. The locales have been presented perfectly and the author has done a good job in characterising the Indian Army officers as perfect gentlemen. The readers are also introduced to the wily Americans and the`A0working of their intelligence agency, the over ambitious politician, Purohit, and Tekchand, the hapless steel magnate. The Pakistani military leader plays the doting father and succumbs to his one weakness, withdrawing all his threats to India. The writer seems to have gone overboard in the plotting, with Mount Everest vanishing from the very face of the Earth. At times, the reader may question his legitimacy of reason. Shameem has addressed the current issues of terrorism, nuclear threats and security, but what happens to Osama? The book ends on a rather intriguing note. |
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Baqir Shameem’s latest page-turner, “The Chenab Connection”, emphasises on the importance of human bonds in times of conflict
https://www.thehindu.com/books/bringing-hearts-together/article18728462.ece
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Army Man Pens Gripping Indo-Pak Tale
Baqir Shameem’s ‘The Chenab Connection’ explores the possibilities of an Indian boy and a Pakistani girl falling in love, under the looming shadow of hatred that has grown stronger in the subcontinent.
New Delhi, April 28, 2017: Baqir Shameem, a retired Brigadier from the Indian Army, released his book ‘The Chenab Connection’, a fascinating love story that traverse between India and Pakistan, in presence of a packed audience at an event held at the India International Centre, New Delhi,last evening .
Brigadier Shameem has served in the Indian Army for over three decades and witnessed the growing Indo-Pak conflict from close quarters. Speaking at the book release, Brigadier Shameem said, “After I completed my fourth book, my daughter-in-law Pooja asked me to write a love story. I thought if it had to be love, why not base it on regional folklore? Two folklores that immediately came to my mind are Sohni-Mahiwal and Heer-Ranjha. Coincidently, both these folklores are “from the Chenab region.”
The Chenab Connection is a fictional love story about an Indian boy and a Pakistani girl falling in love and managing to settle down, having a family, under the looming shadow of hatred that has grown stronger over the last seven decades. It looks at the crisis and its nuances through the eyes of people who are in love; because sometimes all it takes is love to conquer all. In the case of Ravi, love makes him cross one of the most hostile borders in the world to be one with Shaheen. Then there is Simran, and Omar, who fall in love under different circumstances and survive difficult situations to find happiness.
The book was launched by Brigadier Shameem’s wife, Nilofar. The book release was followed by a conversation with the author and senior journalist, Tina Sharma Tiwari on the topic “Can Chenab connect the hearts and minds of the people like it connects the land?”
Over the course of an engaging and candid discussion, Tina Sharma Tiwari said that, “I have been reading this book over a past couple of days and it is absolutely fascinating because at the center there is a love story but there is so much intrigue around it and the author has obviously drawn from his wealth of experience, talking about the army on both sides, the intelligence agencies; all of that gets woven into the plot and that’s very interesting.”
The protagonist of the story, Ravi is a man in love and he is willing to do anything to be with his beloved, Shaheen. In his case, the roadblock is not just they are from two different communities; Shaheen stays in Pakistan, whereas Ravi is from Delhi. They had met as children when their families lived in Bahrain as neighbours. But life is often a difficult road and they get separated, as circumstances force Shaheen to return to her homeland, and Ravi settles down in Delhi.
The book therefore is as much a love story as much as it is a look at the divisive politics that has plagued the subcontinent for decades, where terror and subversion have become second nature for hawks who find more comfort in conflict than in peace and harmony. The characters that that are imbibed in Ravi and Shaheen, are the reality of many people in India and Pakistan.
People across the literature and defense fraternity, including author’s batch mates and senior army fellows, attended the launch. Rama Pandey, veteran TV journalist, theatre personality and the founder of RATNAV Foundation, said, “Reading the book, for the first time I realised that an Army man feels the same way a common man does. Everyone wants peace between the two nations and that can only be achieved through love, not war.” The event ended with the author signing copies of his book for the ecstatic audience.
‘The Chenab Connection’ is the author’s fifth novel. He has previously written four books on different subjects, including ‘The Final Option’, ‘The Simmering Sands’, ‘The Slender Trail’, and ‘The Wishbone’.
New Delhi, April 29: A retired Indian Army Brigadier has penned a fasciting love story that traverse between India and Pakistan in the backdrop of the divisive politics that has plagued the sub-continent for decades. Brig. Baqir Shameem, the author of “The Cheb Connection” served in the Indian Army for over three decades and witnessed the growing cross-border conflict from close quarters. Also Read – Young couple travel 200 km to volunteer for Corona vaccine trial “The Cheb Connection” is a fictional love story about an Indian boy and a Pakistani girl falling in love and maging to settle down and starting a family under the looming shadow of hatred that has grown stronger over the last seven decades. It looks at the crisis and its nuances through the eyes of people who are in love; because sometimes all it takes is love to conquer all. In the case of Ravi, love makes him cross one of the most hostile borders in the world to be one with Shaheen. Also Read – No more access to PUBG Mobile games, servers in India to shut completely from today The book is as much a love story as much as it is a look at the divisive politics that has plagued the sub-continent for decades, where terror and subversion have become second ture for hawks who find more comfort in conflict than in peace and harmony. The book release was followed by a conversation with the author and jourlist Ti Sharma Tiwari on the topic “Can Cheb connect the hearts and minds of the people like it connects the land?” “Reading the book, for the first time I realised that an army man feels the same way a common man does. Everyone wants peace between the two tions and that can only be achieved through love, not war,” said veteran Theatre persolity Rama Pandey, who graced the launch event. “The Cheb Connection” is the author’s fifth novel. He has previously written four books on different subjects, including “The Fil Option,” “The Simmering Sands,” “The Slender Trail,” and “The Wishbone”. (IANS)
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New Delhi: Baqir Shameem, a retired Brigadier from the Indian Army, released his book ‘The Chenab Connection’, a fascinating love story that traverse between India and Pakistan, in presence of a packed audience at an event held at the India International Centre, New Delhi,last evening.
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New Delhi: Author Brigadier (retd) Baqir Shameem’s book The Chenab Connection will be release in 27th April at India International Centre in New Delhi. During the book release ceremony Author Brigadier (retd) Baqir Shameem will be in conversation with Tina Sharma Tiwari and RJ Raunac. “Can Chenab connect the hearts and minds of the people like it connects the land” will be the topic for discussion.
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Barnes & Noble
he novel explores a popular and an intriguing common belief that a wishbone makes your wishes come true. Does this really happen or is it like any other fable that delight the unwary and the gullible? Is there a price to be paid in case the wish does come true ?
The novel is about about everyday people living a normal life. The story revolves around four young women, an American, a Latino American, a Punjabi Indian American and an Indian from Bangaluru. They are great friends and meet regularly in cafes and restaurants in Alexandria, Virginia. They are in their late twenties and three of them are married. Although they remain cheerful, they have many worries and serious personal and family problems. They all are in need of financial help and in an outing in a restaurant they playfully and casually make their wishes through the wishbone.
Soon they receive a windfall amounting to millions of dollars from a very peculiar source. They are euphoric and see the beginning of the end of all their problems. Unknown to them grave and deadly danger looms, a harbinger for misery and painful harm to them and their dear ones.
The novel is a suspense thriller with the action taking place in the bars and casino of Atlantic City, Virginia towns and the the Capitol Hill, Washington DC.
Do the girls succeed in retaining the fortune or do they become victims of a dangerous pursuit?
“To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone” says Reba McEntire, a famous American singer.
Do the girls in “The Wishbone” have the bones?
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Army Man Pens Gripping Indo-Pak Tale
Baqir Shameem, a retired Brigadier from the Indian Army, released his book ‘The Chenab Connection’, a fascinating love story that traverse between India and Pakistan, in presence of a packed audience at an event held …
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Brigadier Shameem has served in the Indian Army for over three decades and witnessed the growing Indo-Pak conflict from close quarters. Speaking at the book release, Brigadier Shameem said, “After I completed my fourth book, my daughter-in-law Pooja asked me to write a love story. I thought if it had to be love, why not base it on regional folklore? Two folklores that immediately came to my mind are Sohni-Mahiwal and Heer-Ranjha. Coincidently, both these folklores are “from the Chenab region.”
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‘THE CHENAB CONNECTION’: CROSS BORDER SURGICAL STRIKE OF LOVE
The Chenab Connection is a fictional love story about an Indian boy and a Pakistani girl falling in love and managing to settle down, having a family, under the looming shadow of hatred that has grown stronger over the last seven decades. It looks at the crisis and its nuances through the eyes of people who are in love; because sometimes all it takes is love to conquer all. In the case of Ravi, love makes him cross one of the most hostile borders in the world to be one with Shaheen.
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This is the story of The Chenab Connection, the latest work of Brigadier (retd) Baqir Shameem, who served in the Indian Army for three decades and witnessed the growing Indo-Pak conflict from close quarters. In this love story, with several twists and turns, he explores the possibilities of an Indian boy and a Pakistani girl falling in love and managing to settle down, having a family, under the looming shadow of hatred that has grown stronger over the last seven decades.
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Former soldier pens gripping tale of cross-border love.
The book is as much a love story as much as it is a look at the divisive politics that has plagued the sub-continent for decades, where terror and subversion have become second nature for hawks who find more comfort in conflict than in peace and harmony
Army Man Pens Gripping Indo-Pak Tale
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